The hardest thing to do when you are a marketer is to get the public interested in whatever it is you’re trying to sell: be it product, public service announcement or news. So we do ad campaigns on TV, radio and print, hoping that by sending the message out to millions (which often costs as much) one or two will be interested. And although you can direct your message slightly to the specific end user you’re aiming for by placing your message in specialty magazines or channels, it’s a stretch. And so does the budget.
Enter the wonder of the Web 2.0 revolution. People have been online now long enough to understand its power, its potential. They now know that they can easily go out in search of that message that suits them. No longer will they be bombarded with ads and a wild array of messages; they will select and choose content on demand through RSS feeds (Really Simple Syndication). Picture all the benefits of an electronic newsletter, but one that can be updated and delivered to the user any time of the day, will be available to the user whenever they want it (or don’t want it – eliminating that pesky “pissoff” tendency most e-newsletters or marketing materials create in their readers), and is guaranteed to be of interest to the user since they went in search of you.
And, anyone can start and deliver an RSS feed. It’s easy to create, update and manage. Conversely, some may argue this is a downside to RSS: no controls means no end to the crap out there. BUT, if you don’t want to read it, you don’t subscribe to it. It’s as simple and as wonderful as that.
